News

25.02.2021

Healthwatch England Annual Report 2019-20

Today, Healthwatch England’s annual report ‘On equal terms’ has been laid in Parliament, highlighting the crucial work that has been doing to help make care better using people’s views.
 
The report looks back at how Healthwatch have raised concerns about patient transport, A&E performance measures, and dementia reviews. As well as more recent issues, which have been raised during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as access to NHS dental care and the impact of poor support after rapid hospital discharge.
 
Also highlighted is the fantastic local Healthwatch response across the country supporting volunteer efforts during lockdown and providing advice to communities over the last year.

Using people’s experiences to inform future services

With growing pressure on the care services, big questions need to be answered to ensure everybody gets the support they need. In 2019-20, Healthwatch engaged over 40,000 people to help the NHS understand what they can do make future services better. 

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced NHS and social care services to rapidly change.Healthwatch have helped services understand the impact of these changes, like providing more digital healthcare. 

We found that feeling safe and comfortable, understanding the benefits of remote appointments, and getting the format right is key to a good online and telephone consultation experience.

Based on the experiences shared with us, we developed a checklist for both patients and health and care professionals on how to get the most out of remote appointments.